Posted by Racer on April 14, 2006, at 16:16:23
In reply to Re: he is def. out and they called to warn me » wildcard11, posted by muffled on April 14, 2006, at 12:41:06
After reading Muffled's post, I felt I had to say this:
Weapons in the house are generally more dangerous to the householder than to any malefactor. Sad, but true. All kinds of reasons, problems, etc.
One of the most important things to consider when you're thinking about having a gun for your own protection, is that it's not enough to be able to say that you could "shoot to kill." You never know what would actually happen if you were ever in a position to carry that out. You'd also, though, have to be able to "shoot to kill" WITHOUT STOPPING TO THINK ABOUT IT. That part is what convinced me never to have a handgun for protection.
You know what I had, though, that I felt safe would never be stolen and used against another innocent person, but I felt pretty confident would win me a few seconds to get myself to safety? A fire extinguisher. I kept a couple of them -- one right by my bed -- when I lived in a lousy neighborhood. My neighbor's gun was stolen, which meant one more gun in the hands of a criminal. I wouldn't want that.
I never had to use my fire extinguishers, for a weapon or for any other reason, but I still felt a whole lot safer for not having a gun.
Oh, and another thing to ask yourself, if you're thinking about getting a gun for protection: Are you more concerned with being safe? Or with harming anyone who tries to get into your house? If harming an intruder is more important than getting to safety, then by all means, get a gun...
(You do understand I have an opinion. For one thing, if I had ever had a gun, I would not be here posting this now. Which is another danger of having a gun in the house.)
poster:Racer
thread:633028
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20060413/msgs/633145.html